AquaFX Reverse Commercial Osmosis Systems have a 1 or 5 micron filter that removes sediment 1 micron or larger. A human hair is normally between 40 and 90 microns. A sediment filter is essential on most RO systems.

The type of carbon you choose should be based on the residual disinfection in your water supply. In the USA there are predominantly two types; Chlorine and Chloramine. Chlorine can be removed using a standard carbon. Chlorine is the easiest disinfectant to effectively remove. This process is referred to as adsorption. Chloramine is replacing Chlorine in many water supplies. Chloramine is a mixture of chlorine and ammonia gases and is much harder to remove. Using a standard carbon will remove the chlorine component and leave behind the ammonia. Ammonia is very toxic to fresh and saltwater marine systems. There is an excellent article in ReefKeeping.com. In order the remove/reduce the ammonia as well as the chlorine we strongly suggest the NH2Cl Blaster Carbon. This carbon is pressure treated to break the outer electron shell and make the carbon reactive. This way the ammonia can react out. There needs to be sufficient contact time for this to occur, a single stage will not do the trick, we use a minimum of double the normal stage size in average concentrations. If the ammonia is very high more Blaster carbon is needed

AquaFX Reverse Osmosis Membrane is the first component in the system that reduces Total Dissolved Solids (TDS); a common example of dissolved solids can be salts or calcium. A TDS meter is the best way to determine if your membrane is operating properly. A properly operating membrane will give you a TDS reduction of at least 90%. EXAMPLE: Raw water TDS is 100 ppm, after the membrane it should be no more than 10 ppm, but normally less. Membranes can fail by Clogging or Scaling, in which case very little or no water will be produced. Membranes will also fail from contact with chlorine due to either VERY high chlorine content or poor prefilter upkeep. Either way the water quality will be very poor. So changing the carbon filter on time is essential. Hot water will also ruin a membrane (>80 Deg. F). If your membrane produces significantly more than it is rated for, that is an indication that something is wrong. Call us with any questions you may have.